Course Catalog 2018-2019 Semester 2 Courses - Loudoun School for ...

Course Catalog
2018-2019
Semester 2 Courses

MATHEMATICS
Financial Algebra
Clark Ragsdale
Frequently, students finish their college career without the most basic financial
skills necessary to function in our 21st century world. These can run the gamut
from personal questions (buying a house, determining the best job utilizing long
term financial return analysis, how do I plan for retirement) to business scenarios
(how can I maximize revenue from a new product line, what are the best terms
when looking for startup capital for a new venture). In this course, students will
utilize and apply mathematical skills to solve these real-world issues that they will
confront as adults.

Principles of Engineering
Clark Ragsdale
Everyone sees marvels of the modern world in their everyday lives: a beautiful
building, the space shuttle, or a highway overpass. But how many of us who
aren’t engineers think, “Could I build that”? In fact, you can. You may not have
finished college with an engineering degree, but you can use the tools in a shop
and readily available materials to build working models that incorporate all the
engineering principles of the real thing. Students in the course will move from
theory (involving the underlying mathematical principles) to the construction of
working models that functionally work like the real thing.
Class work, homework, but mostly completed construction projects will be the
basis for study in this course.

COMPUTER SCIENCE
Advanced Computer Science Projects
Dr. Kevin Oliveau
This class is intended for students who have completed a coding class but now
want to move on to more advanced projects. At this level, coders encounter
higher level challenges: how to break down complex problems into smaller tasks;
how to manage multiple functions and classes; how to document your code and
make it readable; coding styles which reduce the chances of introducing bugs;
documenting your code both for yourself and for others; working with other
coders using defined interfaces; hiding complexity and detail from other coders/
users.

Physical Computing: Individual Projects Advanced Topics
David Romero
This is the capstone to the first semester of Physical Computing. Students
will outline a project for themselves, set deadlines and create something of
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their own. Along the way students will have to pick up new skills and learn
more about programing. Students are welcome to use our parts and Arduino
microcontrollers. Students are given the freedom to use different platforms and
components at their own cost.

SOCIAL SCIENCE
America’s Longest War: Afghanistan
Dr. Kevin Oliveau
We will be covering U.S. involvement in the wars of Afghanistan from the Soviet
invasion to the present. We will read two books by Steve Coll: Ghost Wars: The
Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion
to September 10, 2001 and Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America’s Secret Wars in
Afghanistan and Pakistan. Steve Coll’s books are considered to be the best open
source text on these operations within the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Age of the American Revolutions: 1750-1804
Dr. Kevin Oliveau and Jim Percoco
In this course, students will examine American history from 1750-1804, focusing
on the War for Independence, its background causes and effects as well as
looking at the Constitutional Convention and the Early American Republic. This
will be more than a story of military battles won and lost, but a study of patterns
of history that shifted during the age and how the American Revolution was of
global importance, launching a modern republic, based on the concept of a
meritocracy, abandoning European structures for something new and different.
As part of the course, students will participate in the American Battlefield Trust’s
annual day of service, Park Day at Yorktown Battlefield.

Thomas Merton and Modern Spiritual Masters
Jim Percoco
This course is about one of the most important American voices of the 20th
Century, Thomas Merton. It will be an examination of Merton’s beliefs about war,
violence, civil rights and nuclear armament as well as his serious explorations
of non-Western religious traditions. Students will read his biography, A Life of
Wisdom by James Forest, Merton’s bestselling autobiography, The Seven Story
Mountain, and Thomas Merton’s Essential Writings. After completing the study
of Merton, students will research other spiritual masters of the 20th Century,
including, but not limited to Abraham Joshua Heschel, John Muir, Anthony
DeMello, James Martin, Joan Chittister, Thich Nhat Hanh, Sandu Sundar Singh,
Edith Stein, Henri Nouwen, Albert Schweitzer, Swami Abhishiktananda, and
Pierre Teilhard De Chardin, among others.

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LANGUAGE ARTS
Studies in the Novel: Ghost Stories
Dr. Dan Clinton
Readings will include The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, The Turn
of the Screw by Henry James, Dracula by Bram Stoker, “The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner” by S.T. Coleridge, “Tam O’Shanter” by Robert Burns, and other texts that
grapple with the conflict between disillusioned modernity and remnants of local
superstition. To be clear, this is not a course about the occult; it is a course about
the figurative ghosts created by our erasure or repression of the past. Spoilers:
Bruce Willis was dead the whole time.

20th Century Pop Culture: Radio, Radio
Dr. Dan Clinton
This course will cover classic radio drama, including the infamous War of the
Worlds broadcast by Orson Welles, radio plays by poet Archibald MacLeish,
wartime broadcasts by Norman Corwin, and horror stories by Arch Oboler (who
would go on to direct Bwana Devil, the first color film in 3D). We will conclude
with a unit on the art of podcasts, the modern inheritors of radio drama.

OTHER
The Artist’s Way (HS)
Danielle Ferrin
In this course, we will be delving into to the habits of an artist and the best
practices for sharing out your unique creativity into the world. With choice
projects, we will continue to not only develop your craft & thinking to examine
influences and persevere at art tasks, but also engage with sharing what we have
made through creating a personal website, exhibiting at local public spaces,
entering competitions and curating our personal narratives. This class will include
field trips and guest speakers – working artists from all walks of creating.

Eighth Grade Research and Collaboration: Eighth Grade Project
Jim Percoco and Maureen McCrae
This project is the capstone to our middle school program, transitioning students
to the depth, independence, and outward-facing characteristics of our high
school courses. Students work for one semester, collaborating on a single
extended project that involves working with individuals outside of school to
accomplish a specific goal. At the conclusion of the course, they formally present
the class project and its implications to the school community.

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Tenth Grade Research Seminar: Investigation & Outreach
Dr. Dan Clinton
The tenth-grade milestone builds on the skills acquired in eighth grade, requiring
greater independence and self-direction and offering direct instruction in more
sophisticated research methodologies. Students work for one semester on an
extended independent project that involves working with individuals outside
of school to accomplish a specific goal. The class meets together regularly for
instruction and feedback, but students independently design and execute their
research project. At the conclusion of the course, they formally present their
individual findings to the school community.

Eleventh Grade Individual Study (Optional): Personal Goals and
Deep Study
Various
In eleventh grade, students have the opportunity to earn one to two credits
for individual deep academic study. To earn credit, they must prepare and
successfully defend an original proposal to a panel of faculty and then fulfill the
conditions of that proposal. Based on the college model, this course requires
the student to design the rationale, reading list, timetable, and final product,
which will become part of their high school portfolio. Regular one-on-one
meetings with a faculty mentor support student learning and accountability.
Students are encouraged to select topics that could contribute to their senior
research and practicum.

Senior Research and Practicum (Optional): Professional
Readiness and Leadership
Various
This optional, semester-long senior practicum is an opportunity to explore a
subject deeply within real-world contexts. The goal is to learn how professionals
practice a discipline the student might pursue in college. Faculty mentors provide
guidance on the project and identify opportunities for relevant experiences
outside of school. Students may work in a co-working space in Washington,
D.C., for access to a larger pool of research and internship prospects. Before
graduation, students present their findings to the school community and are
required to have at least one outside expert on their review panel.

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